1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for proactive regulation of energy flows in an electrical supply network of an automation installation with a number of connecting devices that are each connected to the electrical supply network. The invention also relates to an energy regulation system for the proactive regulation of the energy flows in the electrical supply network of the automation installation of this type and to a corresponding automation installation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Energy management or energy controlling is normally understood to mean the energy engineering planning of a system, on the one hand, and the regulation of the energy flows in the system during operation, on the other hand. Emphasis is placed in particular on the guarantee of security of supply, adherence to the value specifications for specified characteristic parameters and the consideration of economic factors and environmental concerns. These basic requirements or fundamental target specifications are always the same, irrespective of whether the system is a CD player, a heating installation, a family home or a large automation installation, i.e., for example, an industrial production plant.
In the case of an automation installation in which a plurality of subsystems or connecting devices are connected to a common electrical supply network, it must, for example, be ensured that all subsystems are supplied at all times during operation with sufficient electrical energy to cover their energy requirement and accordingly to guarantee security of supply. In addition, in the case of an electrical energy supply, voltage and current strength values are specified as characteristic parameters which, in order to guarantee the functional reliability of the automation installation and its subsystems, may be exceeded or understepped within certain limits only. Furthermore, it is desirable from both an economic and an ecological perspective that the energy requirement of the automation installation is minimized depending on a specified mode of operation.
A simple energy management, i.e., an energy management during operation, via a central control unit and a software tool, such as “PROFIenergy”, is essentially known in automation installations. According to the underlying idea, the subsystems regularly transmit communication protocols, in the case of the “PROFIenergy” software tool in accordance with the “PROFINET” standard, to the central control unit, where present status parameters, such as the electrical energy requirement, are conveyed. The central control unit then regulates the energy flows to the subsystems based on these data and specifies the corresponding input voltages and input currents to the subsystems.